Pay It Forward Novels & Stories

And whatever you meant by it — it worked. I remember now. I won’t forget again. We mailed it with no return address. Just in case. And we changed the kids’ school pickup protocols. Just in case. And we installed a second security layer at the house. Just in case. Because trauma teaches you that peace is borrowed. But love? Love is paid forward.

Until after Liam found out I was pregnant and gave me that so-called prenatal medicine. I packed everything I owned and threw all the gifts Liam had given me away. I figured it was finally time to wake up from my seven-year dream.

Everyone was bustling about, and no one noticed that I had just awakened. I looked up and caught sight of the wall clock. Only one hour remained before I would have to return to the future. On the small hospital TV, they were replaying footage of last night's once-in-a-century meteor shower. The shooting stars were beautiful, but unfortunately, I had missed them again. Indeed, it seemed my wishes were destined to remain unfulfilled. I was lost in thought until footsteps approached, followed by Sophia's tired yet joyful voice. "You're awake. Ethan has regained consciousness too, thanks to your timely blood donation last night."

"No worries! I've got this one covered. Consider it a random act of kindness." The lady's eyes widened, a mix of surprise and gratitude filling her. "Oh, you don’t need to bother yourself I couldn't possibly—" But Layla was already signaling the waiter and handing over her card. "It's no trouble at all. We've all been there at some point. Just promise me you'll pay it forward someday." Reluctantly, the lady accepted her generosity, thanking her profusely. As Layla returned to her table, she couldn't help but feel a wave of relief. The embarrassing situation had been averted, thanks to the kindness of Layla.

I reached for my bag but Ryan's voice stopped me. "It's okay I got it." "What? No I can't let you pay." I shook my head. I hated when people paid for me. "No worries, I got it." Ryan sent me a soft smile. I felt insanely bad. "I feel so bad. At least let me pay you for my half." "Trust me Bella he won't take it." Harold spoke up. "Nope. Trust me it's fine." "Fine." I sighed, but I already was planning on making it up to him somehow. My mom always taught me to pay people back even if it’s an act of kindness.

She paused, “Let us forget about yesterday.” Only then did I understand what her ‘payback’ means. She is good at paying her debts but she lacks the ability to share out herself. She is not into helping without gaining something. What a lass! I stared at her waiting gaze, waiting for my delayed reply. What can I say? “Easier said than done,” I finally responded as placed the cup on the table, as if, “In due time, it will fade away.” --in due time, as long as nothing is triggering you to remember, for example, her not existing anymore.

"This is the offer letter from Zach Airways. We'd like to hire you to be the chief pilot. The annual pay is three million dollars, and you'll also be given stock options." He leaned against the chair. "It's too tiring for you to be in this position. You're still young, and you shouldn't limit yourself." I pushed the envelope back to him. "Mr. Zachary Lowe, I'm Ethan Lowe," I said. His finger paused on the desk for a moment. "I know your name." The corners of his lips twitched. "And I know who you are." Zachary rose to his feet and buttoned his coat. "Ethan, if you refuse to help, I'll opt for another way out."

“Where’s our money? Didn’t we just get paid two days ago? Why didn’t you pay the bills? Do you know how important the proposal was? I need to present it on Monday! I stayed up all night for three days, and all that hard work has gone down the drain. It’s all gone!” He screamed hysterically, his finger up my nose. He looked like he was ready to eat me up alive. I shrugged innocently. “The money? I gave it away to a broke college guy.” Roddy’s shouting came to an abrupt stop. He froze as if someone had choked him. His lips parted, but no words came out. “W-What did you say?” He thought his ears were deceiving him. I took my time to respond, “I said, I gave your paycheck away to help a struggli

"Eighth grade: I owe Mom 3,800 dollars for an emergency appendectomy. To pay it off, I performed all household labors through ninth grade at a wage of 100 dollars a month, totaling 1,200 dollars. The remaining 2,600 dollars was paid via Christmas gift money and proceeds from selling junk. "Senior year: I fainted and was hospitalized. Owed Mom 600 dollars. Paid in full with summer job wages." I kept flipping, the pages snapping in the silence as the crowd grew still. "In that house, every bite of food I ate and every rag I wore came with a price tag." I closed the ledger and looked Arnold straight in the eye. "Mom taught me the rule of quid pro quo from an early age. "She taught me there is n

"Please I will pay you back. I will work and pay you back." "You can work other ways and pay us back. After all the sins of the father are visited upon the child." The men laughed at that.